Quick Strikes posted by Amari Harris

Quick Strikes 

-          I had trouble deciding whether I should start Beanie Wells (vs. Lions) or Cedric Benson (vs. Chargers) in one of my fantasy leagues.  It was a tough choice but I decided to go with Wells.  He rewarded me with 110 yards and a touchdown.  Benson was a must start earlier in the season, but the injury has definitely slowed him down.  Hopefully he bounces back this week against the lowly Chiefs.

-          I also benched Marion Barber this week for poor performance.  He responded with 2 TDs.  I would be upset, but I won all of my games, and he is still a fluky play.  Barber remains on the bench for championship week.

-          Free Safety Louis Delmas of the Detroit Lions is the truth.  Although no one really knew who he was until he made that big play last week, I’ve been high on this guy since his days at Western Michigan.  I’ve had a chance to watch him in the NFL a couple of times and he definitely stands out.  Although his awareness could use some work, this guy definitely has range and he is a fierce hitter.  I saw him almost decapitate a couple of players this season.  But he does more than just make the big hit.  He is second among rookies with 82 tackes and he has two touchdowns in his rookie campaign.  He probably won’t get Defensive rookie of the year but he is definitely a playmaker in the mold of an Ed Reed.

Welcome! The Lakers pinky problem, awesome rookies and other thoughts around the league posted by Zach Beckmann

Welcome!  This is my inaugural post on NBABasketballonline.  I will not spend too much time initially on who I am, but will get into my thoughts and love for the NBA.  In due course you should develop a clear indication of who I am and where I am coming from. 

To make things clear right away though I am a Lakers fan.  But beyond the Lakers I am a fan of the league.  There exists no other medium where you can watch the most naturally gifted athletes battle night in and night out (well in the playoffs at least).  The majority of my time is spent rooting for the Lake Show, but by no means does that mean I do not appreciate or any less fascinated with the supreme prowess of Tim Duncan or the fierce competitiveness of KG or the ridiculous all around offensive talents of Melo.  I could comprise my entire initial blog with these adjective laden statements respecting the talents the NBA’s elite, but for our reading pleasure I will delve into more significant opinions I deem worth sharing with others. 

As far as the Lakers are concerned they are the best team in the league.  The Celtics are close, but I can’t still see a healthy Celtics beating a healthy Lakers team in a 7 game series.  The combination of the miles on the C’s legs (even though KG has surpassed all expectations from me at least this year) are just too much to hold up through June, Sheed’s refusal to do anything but throw up bricks from the outside, and the fact that I honestly can not see Paul Pierce dominating Kobe again like he did two years ago leads me to believe the Lakers win that series in five (Game 1 in Boston and games 3,4,5 in LA for those of you keeping score).

Ron Artest is an alcoholic lunatic posted by Colin Linneweber

Psychotic Los Angeles Lakers small forward Ron Artest claimed this week that he boozed a French cognac during games when he played for the Chicago Bulls from 1999-2002.

“I used to drink Hennessy at halftime,” Artest, 30, said in an interview with the Sporting News. “I kept it in my locker. I’d just walk to the liquor store and get it.”

Artest, who was born and raised in the Queensbridge projects in Queens, New York, played college basketball at St. John’s University and he was selected by the Bulls with the 16th overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft.

“When I was a 19-year-old father, whew. I was a single pimp! I was wild,” said the unbalanced hoopster who infamously once attended a practice with the Indiana Pacers donning only a bath robe. “A lot of marijuana and alcohol. I still party and have fun, but not like I used to. I used to drink every night and party every night.”

Artest, the 2004 NBA Defensive Player of the Year and four-time NBA All-Defensive Team selection, also revealed to the famed athletic periodical that he doesn’t regret as a Pacer inciting the violent brawl in Detroit that halted a contest against the Pistons.

The vicious melee “wasn’t my fault…I don’t see anything I could have done differently.”

Artest is simply crazier than a shithouse rat.

The ghetto ballplayer from Gotham needlessly mugged Pistons center Ben Wallace in the waning minutes of a Pacers blowout victory in November 2004.

Great TNT Double-Header Tonight posted by Scott Shepherd

The NBA league pass is awesome, but nothing beats a good TNT double-header.

Tonight, we get a great TNT double-header.

The night starts off with Cleveland at Miami. I’ve written this before, but LeBron vs. Wade is the best head-to-head matchup to watch in the NBA right now. These guys always bring out the best in each other.

In 19 career games against each other, LeBron is averaging 28.6 points per game, 5.6 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 1.2 steals. Wade is averaging 27.2 points per game, 5.4 rebounds, 6.8 assists, and 2.4 steals.

In seven of the last nine meetings, at least one of the two has dropped for at least 30. Twice in that span has each player scored 40 in the same game.

With Miami having only one loss so far this season, and Cleveland coming off a big win against the Magic, I would expect nothing less than a shootout tonight. I expect both superstars put their respective teams of their back and play out what, hopefully, is a very entertaining game to watch.

In the late game, the Suns make their way to the Staples Center to play the Lakers. It’s a battle for first place, and hopefully it reignites what was not too long ago a pretty intense little rivalry.

I couldn’t be happier that the Suns are 8-1 and have the best record in the league. Make no mistake, I hate the Suns. With a capitol “H”.

I hate Steve Nash; I hate the :07 seconds or less offense; I hate their owner; I hate their uniforms: I hate their mascot.

But I love the fact that after this hot start I keep reading things like, “The Suns are back!!”

New Era of NBA Bigs? posted by Scott Shepherd

Have you looked at the league leaders yet this season?

There are some familiar faces atop some of the big categories. Kobe leads the league in scoring. Nash leads the league in assists. Rondo leads the league in steals.

You almost expect to see those guys near the top of those categories.

But have you taken a look at the league leaders in rebounds? It’s not exactly a who’s who of NBA big men over the past few years.

Here’s the top ten:

1. Gerald Wallace 13.8

2. Marc Gasol 11.9

T3. Chris Bosh 11.6

T3. Carlos Boozer 11.6

5. Dwight Howard 11.1

6. Joakim Noah 11.0

T7. Brendan Haywood 10.7

T7. Al Horford 10.7

T7. Zach Randolph 10.7

10. Emeka Okafor 10.5

I know it’s still very early in the season, and inevitably some of these names will fall out of the top ten. But as of right now, only three of the top ten rebounders have ever played in an all-star game (Bosh, Boozer, Howard).

Last year, six of the top ten rebounders have been all-stars. The year before that the number was five. Before that, it was eight.

What does it all mean? Probably nothing. Like I said, it’s still early.

But, it could mean that there has been a shift in the way teams are putting together their rosters.

Earlier in the decade, there seemed to be a real focus on finding big guys who could not only rebound, but contribute offensively as well. The logic behind that makes sense; you want a player that can do everything in your lineup.

Fun With Box Scores posted by Scott Shepherd

Last week in “Fun With Box Scores” I took a look at about ten different things that jumped out from the previous week’s box scores.

It was the initial plan to roll out ten more fun little facts that I discovered while rummaging through the box scores this week, but I came across one box score that was so unique that I don’t feel like any other stat line from the week is worthy of being in the same post as this one.

Therefore, this week’s “Fun With Box Scores” is just one box score.

It comes from Wednesday night’s Lakers-Rockets game.

The stat line looks like this:

D. Fisher 35 minutes, 0-5 from the field, 0 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists.

You read that correctly. In 35 minutes of play, Derek Fisher was unable to accumulate a single point, rebound, or assist in the Lakers overtime win over the Rockets.

Surely that has to be some sort of record, right? It’s not possible for a starter to go the entire game and not register any stats, is it?

Well, thanks to the greatest website ever created, www.basketball-reference.com, I was able to find out.

I set the minimum at 25 minutes played, meaning that the player played at least half of the game, thus ruling out anyone who was injured in the early going, and searched to find out if any other player has ever had a 0-0-0 game.

The result: Derek Fisher can rest easy. He’s not the only player to go an entire game without accumulating a point, rebound, or assist.

Lakers loom as Grizz road trip nears end posted by Brad Hurt

Although it is usually a highlight of Lakers-Grizzlies meetings, the Gasol Brothers will not face off tonight when Pau's Lakers host Marc's Grizzlies.  Pau will miss tonight's game as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury, although by all accounts it seems to be completely healed.  As with Allen Iverson's situation, though, with a hamstring you can never be too careful.  Last season, Pau held a slight edge over his younger brother, averaging 16 ppg in the teams' four matchups, all Laker wins, while Marc averaged 13 ppg.  However, Marc outscored Pau in each of the last two meetings, 17-13 and 14-12, respectively.

The Lakers may be somewhat fatigued as they enter tonight's game coming off consecutive overtime games against Oklahoma City and Houston.  I wouldn't count on it, but if the Grizzlies can get off to another quick start and punish the Lakers physically with Zach Randolph and Marc, they could hang around.  They just have to be consistent and efficient on offense.  They absolutely must limit their turnovers because they are going to need all the extra possessions they can get.

So far the Grizzlies' offense has been balanced, with several players averaging at least 20 ppg.  That is a good sign because they will need contributions from many different sources tonight.  If the bench wanted to choose a night to explode, tonight wouldn't be a bad choice.

The Grizzlies may not get the calls they managed to get against the Kings, but they have to shoot better from the line when they do get there.  You can't find easier points than that.

Andrew Bynum: The Oldest 22-Year-Old in the NBA posted by Scott Shepherd

He fooled me yet again.

We’ve seen this act before. Andrew Bynum, through the first five games, is averaging over 20-10, yet again.

It’s nothing new. For the third straight season, the young, potential stud, center for the Los Angeles Lakers has hit the ground running and has shown flashes of being an all-star caliber center in the NBA.

And, for the third straight season, Bynum’s great start may be overshadowed by, yet another, major injury.

With 24.7 seconds left in the Lakers overtime win over the Rockets last night, Kobe Bryant dished a perfect pass to Bynum under the hoop and he was fouled as he tried to convert the lay-up. It wasn’t an obscenely hard foul, but certainly one in which the Rockets were making it clear they weren’t about to allow Bynum to score without heading to the free throw line.

After the play, Clyde Drexler, doing color commentary for the Rockets, mentioned that it looked like Bynum was hurt on the play. It was never mentioned again.

Bynum shot the free throws, the Lakers went on to win, and that was that.

Today in the Los Angeles Times, Mike Bresnahan is reporting that Bynum woke up today and couldn’t even move his arm. The Lakers say that he’ll be re-evaluated today, and haven’t given any further word on his condition.

I don’t want to pull out the Jump to Conclusions Mat just yet, but I’ll say this: it doesn’t look good.

If this were just about any other player in the league, I would hardly bat an eyelash at this report. Guys get banged up all the time, and sometimes it’s bad enough that they need to be re-evaluated the following day.

First Impressions posted by Scott Shepherd

The NBA season is officially underway (unless you live in Chicago or Milwaukee).

After several hours parked in front of the NBA League Pass for the past two days, it’s time for some first impressions.

The Good

Ty Lawson

How good was he last night? I predicted the Denver Nuggets to be the third best team in the West this season, and that was assuming that Ty Lawson would play like a rookie point guard.

But his 17 points, six assists, and four rebounds, plus very solid fourth quarter minutes in a close game against a decent Utah team, shows that he may be a real X factor for this team moving forward.

Brook Lopez

Lopez was a monster last night, finishing with 27 points, 15 rebounds, five blocks, and four assists. Of course, the Nets lost, mainly because they couldn’t hold off the mighty T’Wolves down the stretch, but it certainly wasn’t because of Lopez.

Los Angeles Lakers

I know they were playing the Clippers, but the champs didn’t miss a beat. This could have been the most lopsided seven-point game I’ve ever seen.

If it hadn’t been for the extended period in the second quarter where D.J. Mbenga tried to show his limitless range the Clippers would have lost by 20.

The Lakers starters (minus their second best player, Pau Gasol), were nothing short of dominant all game. They just toyed with the Clippers for most of the game, and clamped down where it mattered most.

Boston Celtics

NBA Opening Night Quick Thoughts posted by Scott Shepherd

Happy New Year!

With the new NBA season set to tip off with four games tonight, here are some of the things I’ll be watching for in tonight’s action.

Boston @ Cleveland, 7:30pm

I can’t wait to see LeBron again this season. Last year, coming off the Olympics, you could see that his focus was on improving defensively. Now, without a summer in the spotlight, I’m curious to see if he’s made any improvements to his already unreal game. Is this the year we finally see LeBron use his Karl Malone-like body to beast on people inside?

Also, I’m curious to see what kind of pregame theatrics the Cavs come up with. You know Shaq can’t stand to be out of the spotlight, I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries to one-up LeBron’s chalk thing with something of his own.

As for Boston, I really want to see how Rondo responds to not getting a contract extension. Last year he was a triple-double waiting to happen in the playoffs, but at the same time, Boston was not a threat.

Are we going to see the more subdued Rondo that won the title in ’08, or will it be the ’09 version that was the centerpiece of that team?

And of course, I’m looking forward to seeing Rasheed Wallace’s giant new cornrows. Those would have been ugly 4 years ago. Nice throwback hairstyle, 'Sheed.

Washington @ Dallas, 8:30pm

Curious to see the return of the former Agent Zero. I wrote last season that he could be this decade’s Grant Hill, and not in a good way. Three knee surgeries in 17 months is a terrible route to take to NBA superstardom. It’s nearly impossible to bounce back from that.

Lakers' Kobe Bryant out against Blazers (AP)

Kobe Bryant missed the Los Angeles Lakers' game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night because of a sore left ankle. Bryant, who had played in 235 straight games, originally sprained his ankle in Philadelphia last week. He aggravated it during Wednesday night's victory over Charlotte when teammate Lamar Odom stepped on his foot. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Bryant out but Lakers beat the Blazers 99-82 (AP)

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From Yahoo! Sports

No Bryant, no problem for Lakers (AP)

Lamar Odom replaced an injured Kobe Bryant and matched his career high with 22 rebounds, as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 99-82 in the NBA on Saturday. Bryant sat out with a sore left ankle, ending the 12-time All-Star's run of 235 straight games. Odom also scored 10 points as the Lakers pulled away in the fourth quarter, leading by as manyas 19 points, en route to... [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Injured Kobe watches Lakers top Blazers (AP)

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From Yahoo! Sports

Blazers' Roy out through All-Star break (AP)

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From Yahoo! Sports